CPR Dallas Classroom

It’s all about the education at Creative Photography Retreat. Learn the best shutter speed

to snap the winning goal, the best lighting for that first kiss as husband and wife, tips for

creating dramatic effects in everyday family photos, and so much more!

The innovative use of interactive courses and expert knowledge combined with hands-on

practice applications assure you’ll perfect even the trickiest of techniques.

Core Classes:

The Sweet Life
Think. Create. Record
Keep It Real: Capturing Wedding Moments, Memories and Madness
Up Close and Oh So Personal
The Great Photo Finish
Minimalist Lighting: How to Leverage Small, Inexpensive Lights for Big Results
Photo Editing Secrets: How to WOW with Adobe Camera Raw
Finding the Right Light

A la Carte Classes:

A la Carte Class: Create Your Own How To Photography Book by Canon USA

A la Carte Class: Get Close with Macro Photography by Canon USA

A la Carte Class: Basic Camera Techniques

A la Carte Class: Pentablet Photography - Creating Master Photo Effects

A la Carte Class: Five Surprising Places to Take Great Photos in Your Home

A la Carte Class: Basic Photoshop

Event Class Blocks

Your education at CPR consists of eight core courses that every student has the opportunity

to take during the two-day event.

CLASS BLOCKS – FRIDAY
9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.  
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.  
1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.  
3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.  

CLASS BLOCKS – SATURDAY
9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. 
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 
1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. 
3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Click the button below to register for Canon Ala Carte Classes

Class: The Sweet Life
Instructor: Cheryl Muhr

Class Description: Learn how to capture your favorite subjects at their best….laughing, playing, loving, BEING.  From maternity to newborn to toddlers to teens, this class focuses on photographing all of the stages of childhood while keeping a very simplistic approach which takes the mystique out of professional looking photographs.  Create connections with your subjects that transform ordinary photographs into extraordinary works of art.

Class length: 1.50 hours

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Class: Think. Create. Record
Instructor: Karen Carey

Class Description: Slow down and learn to document the story of your life in a way that is thoughtful and creative.  Don't just shoot from the hip and hope for the best.  This class is designed to teach you to recognize the difference between a photo essay and a haphazard series of snapshots.  As we focus on mindful picture taking, you will learn to see and recognize the nuances of light and shadow and how they work together to narrate your photographic story.  You will learn to incorporate the principals of composition, lighting and posing so that you can set the mood and tone, keeping your story flowing and cohesive.  

Class length: 1.50 hours

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Class: Keep It Real: Capturing Wedding Moments, Memories and Madness
Instructor: Nicole Hill

Class Description: We all have photos of special occasions that are way too serious and lack even the slightest bit of personality. Learn to capture the details, personalities and memories at a wedding without your photos looking stuffy. Now, you can learn how to infuse life into your images! This course will be a combined lecture and hands-on demo where you will learn to direct a real bride & groom during class time.

Class length: 1.50 hours

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Class: Up Close and Oh So Personal
Instructor: Sarah Goodman

Class Description: Are you tired of getting pictures and playing “Where’s Waldo?” with yourself trying to find certain people in your pictures?  And how in the world do some photographers get such amazing close-ups? Come to Sarah’s class and find the art of getting up close and personal!  Sarah will teach you the secrets to letting children, and adults, invite you into their space. Learn where to focus, the best compositions, and where to place your subject to  illuminate them in the most flattering way.  Go for a fieldtrip outdoors to see exactly what she does with any existing natural light.   Finally….learn what gear is the best to help you achieve success. 

Instructor Bio: Photographer Sarah Goodman is in LOVE with people. She loves to meet new people and see what makes them unique. One of her favorite past times is just to sit and people-watch, so photography blends all of those things into a creative outlet for her. 

Class length: 1.50 hours

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Class: The Great Photo Finish
Instructor: Tiffany Tillman

Class Description: Unleash the creativity of Photoshop into your digital photography! In this 90-minute session, Tiffany will share her best Adobe Photoshop and Elements photo solutions for tinting, edging, lighting effects, blending, texturing, and creative printing. A portion of class time is dedicated to applying each technique to your own favorite photos. This class also includes a photographer's digital product pack!

Student's Should Bring:

• Laptop with Photoshop Elements 6 or 7, or Photoshop CS3 or CS4
• Downloaded sample photos and product pack which will be e-mailed to all registered students
• Additional photos (JPG) for student play time in class

Class length: 1.50 hours

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Class: Minimalist Lighting: How to Leverage Small, Inexpensive Lights for Big Results
Instructor: Kirk Tuck

Class Description: Instructor, Kirk Tuck, will discuss how to use small, battery operated flashes, along with inexpensive lighting modifiers, to give your images the extra quality they need to go from "good" to "great".  Tuck will demonstrate how to light with small flashes, how to use inexpensive reflectors and materials to add light where it's needed and subtract light that interferes with your vision for an image.  He'll cover portrait lighting, product lighting and cover lots of tricks he's learned in over twenty years of practicing commercial photography for clients like:  IBM, Motorola, Dell, Freescale, Time Warner and many, many publications.  His philosophy is that controlling light is critical to success.  "Lighting is much more important than which camera you use!!!"

Come ready to participate in creating effective but easy to implement demonstrations followed by a lively, interactive discussion.

Class length: 1.50 hours

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Class: Photo Editing Secrets: How to WOW with Adobe Camera Raw
Instructor: Jessica Sprague

Class Description: In this 90-minute class, you'll learn how to make small changes to your photos that will have a huge impact! We'll be using the Adobe Camera Raw application (a great plug-in which comes free with Elements and Photoshop CS3 and CS4) to learn key photo editing techniques you can use on any photo. We'll work on white balance, color correction, brightness, contrast, color saturation, sharpening, and more, to take your photos from good to GREAT. We'll start out the class using a sample photo, and you'll finish by editing several of your own photos right in class. Complete instructions to take home with you, and use on every photo you take!

You'll need: Photoshop Elements 6 or 7, or Photoshop CS3 or CS4.

Please also bring several photos (either JPG or RAW) with you on your laptop to practice editing.

In addition, please download the sample photo that will be e-mailed to all registered students.

Class length: 1.50 hours

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Class: Finding the Right Light
Instructor: Candice Stringham

Class Description: Did you know the word “photography” comes from Greek words meaning “to write with light.” Essentially, taking a picture is simply capturing light. That is why finding great light is so important. In this class we will learn about all the elements natural light has to offer. We will not only learn how to look for great light but also how to overcome difficult lighting situations such as: how to work with direct sunlight, add a pop in the shade, take photos without flash in low-light situations, and use window light to create a studio look. We will discuss metering, camera settings as well as the equipment needed in order to be able to leave class and look for the right light!

Class length: 1.50 hours

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A la Carte Class: Create Your Own How-To Photography Book by Canon USA ($35)

Class Time: Thursday 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Instructor: Tricia Gray

Class Description: This class is designed for photographers who want to document how they learn photography skills in a creative way. Learn photography basics and your command dial with a goal of understanding settings outside of auto.  This is a 2 hour course that will give you the opportunity to personalize your own reference guide.

Class length: 2.00 hours

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A la Carte Class: Get Close with Macro Photography by Canon USA ($35)

Class Time: Friday 5:30 - 7:30 PM

Instructor: Tricia Gray

Class Description: This class is designed for photographers who want to explore macro photography. Learn how to get closer to your subject and use depth of field to create a unique composition. This is a 2 hour course that will give you the opportunity to photograph a wide variety of subjects. We encourage you to bring your own items to photograph along with your camera. We will be providing an assortment of objects that are fun to photograph and additional accessories.

Class length: 2.00 hours

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A la Carte Class: Basic Camera Techniques (FREE)

Class Time: Thursday 3:30 - 4:30 PM

Instructor: Kirk Tuck

Class Description: A great introductory to help familiarize students with the different modes available on a camera. Not a beginner? Take this course as a nice refresher before core classes beginner on Friday!

Class length: 1.00 hours

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Class Time: Thursday 3:30 - 5:00 PM

Class Description: Join us through a trek into creating gorgeous effects on your photography using a Wacom Pen Tablet. In this seminar setting you will learn to create and use photo masks, journal on your photographs, create photo frames and more fun elements. This class is a photographers best friend. Learn simple techniques with stunning results, all with the click of a PEN!

Class length: 1.50 hours

Student Supplies: We encourage you to bring your own photos to practice. This 90-minute class requires a laptop and one of the following versions of Photoshop: Elements 6.0 or higher or Photoshop CS2 or higher.

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Class Time: Thursday 5:00 - 6:00 PM

Instructor: Sarah Goodman

Class Description: Are you stumped at how professional photographers take amazing pictures in seemingly average homes and manage to do it with only natural light? Do you think your home is too dark to do a photo shoot in? Well...if so...come and let Sarah Goodman teach you about four great "sweet" spots to take images in your home...who knows....she may cheat and give you a 5th great spot!

Class length: 1.00 hours

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Class Time: Thursday 3:30 - 4:30 PM

Instructor: Sarah Goodman

Class Description: Taught by Jessica Sprague This basic Photoshop course is an introduction or a refresher to those students that feel they need a little more working knowledge of this valuable program before their classes begins on Friday. This 60-minute class requires a laptop and one of the following versions of Photoshop: Elements 6.0 or Photoshop CS2 or CS3.

Class length: 1.00 hours

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